The new City Hall database. Source: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Councils across London will be able to
share an online database set up to protect London’s two million private renters
from unscrupulous landlords.
The measure was announced by Mayor of
London Sadiq Khan at the beginning of the week and the new database will be
published on his website this Autumn to report suspected dishonest landlords
and agents whose accommodations and services fall below acceptable legal
standards.
Britain has one of the oldest stocks
of housing in Europe, with many homes leaking heat and letting in cold air and
water.
According to the Mayor of London
‘Housing in London 2015’ report published by the Greater London Authority (GLA)
at the end of 2015, ‘around 21 per cent
of homes in London are below the official Decent Homes Standard and the
proportion has fallen slightly faster in London than in the rest of England since
2006’.
The same document reads: ‘More than two thirds of all moves in London
in the last years were either into or within the private rented sector’.
As if it was not enough, rents across
the capital are high-priced. According to the Citizens Advice (2015), there are more than 100,000 households who
pay more than £900 per month to live in an unsafe private home.
Therefore, not only an increasing
number of Londoners is renting while struggling to get on the housing ladder, but
also affordable and decent accommodations are extremely hard to find. In fact,
high demand means some landlords exploit tenants by putting them in uncomfortable
and often unsafe homes and the new City Hall database intends to bring together
details of acceptable places to rent or buy.
The scheme, which will be built in
partnerships with London Boroughs and will initially involve six councils,
Newham, Brent, Camden, Southwark, Kingston and Sutton, will also provide
details about landlords and letting agents who have been previously prosecuted
for housing offences.
